Hill Country – Ride CT & Ride New Englandhttp://ride-ct.com
Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!Tue, 12 Dec 2017 23:18:55 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.4Hill Country: Riding Focuses Attentionhttp://ride-ct.com/riding-focuses-attention/
http://ride-ct.com/riding-focuses-attention/#respondMon, 20 Nov 2017 15:08:38 +0000http://ride-ct.com/?p=21459CHESTER, VT – When I throw my right leg over the saddle and settle in for a ride on my motorcycle I’m suddenly in a completely different world. It’s a place where the risks are greater, where you need to bring a level of concentration based on situational awareness. Riding focuses attention, your eyes keep sweeping …

]]>http://ride-ct.com/riding-focuses-attention/feed/0Hill Country: Break-In Required For Gluteus Maximushttp://ride-ct.com/break-in-required-for-gluteus-maximus/
Tue, 19 Sep 2017 16:25:02 +0000http://ride-ct.com/?p=21144CHESTER, VT – Back in the 1990s, I was at the big BMW MOA (BMW Motorcycle Owners of America) motorcycle rally in Moodus, CT when I overheard a woman declare that her butt was busted after riding from the Midwest to New England. We were standing in front of the Corbin seat vendors display. Corbin, located …

]]>Hill Country: Flight Plan For Cyclecarhttp://ride-ct.com/hill-country-flight-plan-for-cyclecar/
Fri, 09 Jun 2017 20:16:28 +0000http://ride-ct.com/?p=20436CHESTER, VT – I’ve always been fascinated by cyclecars. What are they? Here’s a very loose history: Cyclecars first became popular in 1910. They were lightweight vehicles with small, motorcycle engines and minimal bodies. The most common configuration was a V-twin engine mounted in front between two steerable wheels with a third drive wheel in …

]]>Hill Country: Translating A Visionhttp://ride-ct.com/hill-country-translating-vision/
Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:58:52 +0000http://ride-ct.com/?p=20181CHESTER, VT – No, this isn’t about me having some kind of vision, or about some psychic that I employed to interpret it. Not even close. This is about the creative process. It actually stems from the rather arrogant assumption (on my part) that I can do it, or have it done, better. I’m talking …

]]>Hill Country: Mudgett’s Sportster Getting A Makeoverhttp://ride-ct.com/arlo-mudgetts-sportster-getting-a-makeover/
Sun, 19 Feb 2017 22:26:31 +0000http://ride-ct.com/?p=19913CHESTER, VT – A string of bright, sunny days here in February holds the promise of spring, yet we are still about a month away from the Vernal Equinox, or the first day of spring. This is my 46th year of holding a valid motorcycle license, so naturally these spring-like days stir the motorcyclist inside …

]]>Hill Country: Mudgett Remembers Former Bikeshttp://ride-ct.com/former-bikes/
Tue, 03 Jan 2017 18:28:21 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=19308CHESTER, VT – During the off-season, motorcyclists are free to dream about the perfect ride. My version of that ride involves clear, dry air; bright sunshine; and paved country roads through hilly country. I’ve been fortunate enough to live that fantasy many times up here in Vermont as well as in Northern California. With perfect …

]]>Hill Country: Please Don’t Kill Us…http://ride-ct.com/please-dont-kill-us/
Tue, 25 Oct 2016 18:51:47 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=18847CHESTER, VT – In March 1992, a high school driver’s ed class in Windsor County, Vermont got invaded by half-dozen grizzled looking bikers in black leather jackets, chaps, and steel-toed boots. All of them were pretty much lifers; you know, the kind of guys who started riding motorcycles when they were six and will probably …

]]>Hill Country: Riding Habits Change With Agehttp://ride-ct.com/riding-habits-change-with-age/
Tue, 04 Oct 2016 01:12:57 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=18669CHESTER, VT – As I have aged, my motorcycle riding habits have changed. I’ve set criteria for my riding time, and I no longer ride in the rain if I can avoid. Think back on your wettest ride. Mine was a day-long deluge from the eastern end of Tennessee to Memphis. My rain jacket was …

]]>Hill Country: Bike Builders Thrive In Brattleborohttp://ride-ct.com/brattleboro-bike-builders/
Thu, 01 Sep 2016 22:52:30 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=18336BRATTLEBORO, VT – In Vermont, it is less and less of a rarity to run into a celebrity. The first time I ever recall actually recognizing a celebrity in the flesh was a chance face-to-face encounter with filmmaker Ken Burns. I was trying to squeeze into the door of a crowded restaurant in West Brattleboro …

]]>Hill Country: How Mudgett Handles Motorcycle Storage…http://ride-ct.com/how-arlo-mudgett-handles-motorcycle-storage/
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 14:21:25 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=17914CHESTER, VT – Where do you keep your stuff? Where do you keep those toys when you are not using them? Right now I have four motorcycles, three are relatively new. They’re gleaming and happy sitting in my non-climate controlled garage. The fourth is a project that is sitting in a steel building with a crushed …

]]>Hill Country: Bridgestone Memorieshttp://ride-ct.com/bridgestone-175/
Wed, 29 Jun 2016 20:33:55 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=17569CHESTER, VT – If you’ve ever had the pleasure of driving a good go-cart on a curvy track, you know the feeling. You’d swear you were traveling at close to 180 miles per hour when in reality you might be pegging the speedo at 30. This is what a friend of mine called a low-velocity, …

]]>Hill Country: No Gear Shortage For Arlo Mudgetthttp://ride-ct.com/arlo-mudgett-2/
http://ride-ct.com/arlo-mudgett-2/#commentsTue, 07 Jun 2016 19:30:48 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=17374CHESTER, VT – As the 2016 motorcycling season truly gets going, my thoughts have turned to gear. I’m talking about jackets, boots, helmets, gloves, and those comfort and safety items for the ride. If you are a pack rat like me, you’ve got tons of stuff lying about. This is true for folks who backpack, …

]]>http://ride-ct.com/arlo-mudgett-2/feed/1Hill Country: Vermont Ride Stirs Memories For Mudgetthttp://ride-ct.com/vermont-ride/
Wed, 18 May 2016 13:50:40 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=17184CHESTER, VT – It isn’t a ride I could do every day; there are just too many echoes of my past. I have to be in the mood for a ride like this, running parallel histories through my mind as the road unwinds. It causes me to struggle with keeping my focus on these truly …

]]>Hill Country: An Unexpected Sportsterhttp://ride-ct.com/unexpected-sportster/
Wed, 04 May 2016 20:24:44 +0000http://www.ride-ct.com/?p=17078CHESTER, VT – I’ve bought and sold motorcycles for 45 years, and only once have I purchased one that I never rode for at least a few months. I buy them, enjoy them, and sell them when I’m looking for a different experience. Over the years, I’ve owned everything from a BMW to a Czechoslovakian …